Fort Worth, TX vs Long Beach, CA
Side-by-side fiscal comparison · U.S. Census Bureau data (2023)
Long Beach, CA outspends Fort Worth, TX by a wide margin per resident — $34,250 versus $15,939, a 115% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.
Long Beach, CA edges Fort Worth, TX on the Fiscal Health Score by 4 points — 67/100 (grade B) to 63/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.
Long Beach, CA reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Fort Worth, TX carries $1,921 per resident. Both cities pour the most per-resident dollars into the same function: parks and recreation leads in Fort Worth, TX at $708 per resident and in Long Beach, CA at $698.
They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Fort Worth, TX at 15% of total revenue, whereas Long Beach, CA relies most on other revenue at 12%.
Summary
Long Beach spends 53.5% more per capita than Fort Worth ($18,311/person difference). Long Beach, CA has the stronger Fiscal Health Score (B, 67/100).
Fiscal Health Score
Key Metrics
Per Capita Spending by Department
Revenue Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Sales Tax | $198 | $36 |
| Income Tax | $851 | $1,760 |
| Intergovernmental | $4,002 | $1,688 |
| Charges & Fees | $3,594 | $2,424 |
| Other | $3,439 | $8,836 |
Spending Breakdown (Per Capita)
| Fire Protection | $156 | $0 |
| Highways & Roads | $317 | $0 |
| Public Welfare | $869 | $1,317 |
| Health | $235 | $477 |
| Hospitals | $1,680 | $2,751 |
| Parks & Recreation | $708 | $698 |
| Housing | $4,217 | $5,782 |
| Sewerage | $267 | $86 |
| Utilities | $2,674 | $3,889 |
| Interest on Debt | $0 | $2,718 |
| Other | $4,817 | $16,533 |
Compare More Cities
Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, 2026.